Booster regulator



Aug. 7, 1945.

Filed .Ju-1y 20, 1945 INVENTOR ATTONEY Patented Aug. 7, 1945 BOOSTER REGULATOR Frank H. Farmer, deceased, late of Hinsdale, Ill., by Millie Evelyn Farmer, executrix, Hinsdale, Ill., assignor to Westinghouse Electric Corporation, East Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application July 20, 1943, Serial No. 495,423

7 Claims.

This invention relates to booster regulators for distribution circuits in which a transformer is employed for increasing the voltage of the distribution circuit as the load current in the circuit increases.

It is an object of the invention to provide a regulating transformer for use on single-phase alternating-current circuits for controlling the distribution circuit voltage by boosting the voltage across transformer secondary windings that are permanently connected in series with the circuit conductors.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, in which the single iigure is a diagrammatic view of circuits and apparatus organized in accordance with the invention.

In the drawing, supply circuit conductors I, 2 and 3 represent a three-wire, single-phase alternating current source of energy for supplying a load through circuit conductors 4, 2 and 5, the conductors 4 and 5 being on the output side of the regulating equipment and the conductor 2 being continuous from the source to the load. The conductors I, 2 and 3 comprise a three-wire circuit having, say 120 volts between conductors.

I and 2, and 2 and 3, and 240 volts between conductors I and 3, a solenoid winding 6 and a series transformer winding 'I and the conductor 3 is similarly connected to the conductor through a solenoid winding 8 and a secondary or series transformer winding 9. The boosting transformer Il includes, in addition to the series connected secondary windings 'I and 9, a primary or exciting winding I2 inductively related to the secondary windings 'I and 9. winding I2 is effected by means of interlocking relays I3 and I4, the operation of which is controlled by a primary control element I5 comprising a rocker arm or beam I6 pivotally mounted on a pivot pin I'I and actuated by armatures I8 and i9 connected thereto and associated respectively, with the control solenoids 6 and 8, which together operate to move the beam I 6 in a clockwise direction against the bias of a spring 2|, one end of which is attached to an abutment 22, and the otherend of which is attached to the beam I6 by means of the pivot pin 23. The beam I6 carries a plurality of contact members 24, 25, 26 and 21 which are shown in spaced relation to cooperating contact members 28, 29, 30rand 3| respectively, so as to close circuits through the cooperating pairs of contact members in sequence as the beam I6 moves in a clockwise direction.

The control of the exciting In the illustrated position of the beam IB, the relays I3 and I 4 are both in their deenergized positions and the exciting winding I 2 is short circuited through a circuit extending from line conductor I through conductor 32 to the winding terminal 33 and from the opposite winding terminal 34, through conductor 35, contact members 38 and 3l of the relay I 3, conductor 38, contact membersI 39 and 40 of the relay I4, and conductor ril to line conductor I. A circuit is also closed between winding terminals 33 and 34 which includes a resistor 42, contact members 43 and 44 of relay I3, conductor 45, contact members 46 and 47 of relay I4, and conductor 35 to the terminal ,34.

For load currents up to a predetermined value, say, of the rated load current of the apparatus, theibeam I6 will not have moved suiciently in a clockwise direction, under the influence of the solenoids 6 and 8, t0 effect operation of the relays i3 and i4. As the load current increases, however, the movement of the beam IE by the plungers I8 and i9 that are responsive to the currents owing in the solenoid windings 6 and 8 respectively, causes engagement between the contact members 24 and 28 to connect one side of the operating winding 5I of the relay I3 to line Conductor i through a circuit including the contact members 24 and 28, conductor 52, the contact members 53 and 54 of relay I4 and conductor 4I. Upon a slight further movement of the rocker arm I6 in a clockwise direction contact members 25and 29 are brought into engagement closing a circuit from the other terminal of the relay operating winding 5I through conductor 55, contact members 25 and 29, and conductor 56 to conductor 2, thus connecting the winding 5I across conductors I and 2 for energizing it to eiect an upward movement of the associated armature 6D and movable contact members. As the armature 60 starts its upward movement, the short circuit through relay contact members 36 and 31 previously traced is interrupted, and, upon a slight further upward movement of the relay the contact member 5l bridges the contact members 58 to close a circuit extending from line conductor 2 through branch conductor 59, relay contact members 5l and 58, conductors 6I and 35 to the terminal 34 of winding i2, the opposite terminal 33 being connected through conductor 32 to line conductor I. This circuit places the voltage between line conductors Iy and 2, say, volts, across the exciting winding I2. At the moment that the above traced circuit for energizing the exciting winding is completed, the circuitlthrough the resistor 42 above traced is still intact. This resistor eliminates the need for opening the exciting winding during transition periods from one circuit connection to another, which if done, would result in excessive momentary drops of secondary voltdue to inserting a series reactance in the line. It also provides a circuit for the dissipation of energy which would otherwise appear as sparking across the switch contacts during the transition period from one circuit connection to another. At the same time that the contact member 51 bridges the contact member 58, a contact member G2 bridges the contact member (SSIr to connect the terminal 64 of the operating winding 5I to the line conductor 2 through conductor 59 which is independent of the initial connection between these two points through the contact members and 29 as effected by movement of the rocker arm I6. This holding circuit is provided so that the relay I3 will not be deenergized upon slight movements oi the rocker arm I6 in a counter-clockwise direction which are insufficient to interrupt the circuit through the contact members 24 and 28.

As the upward movement of the relay I3 is completed, the contact member 44 separates from the contact members 43 to interrupt the circuit through the resistor 42 in shunt with the exciting winding I2, thus completing the first operating step of the booster regulator.

Upon the interruption of the short circuit ol the exciting winding I2 and the connection of this winding to the 1Z0-volt source between conductors I and 2, a predetermined boost in the voltage across the series secondary windings 1 and 3 is introduced, thus increasing the output voltage between conductors 4, 2 and 5. If the line current decreases while the relay I3 is in its energized or circuit closing position, so as to interrupt the circuit through the contact members 24 and 28 and deenergize the operating winding 5I, the several circuit changes controlled by relay I3 will take place in the reverse order from that above described for the relay while moving to its energized position. That is to say, the contact member 44 will first bridge the contact members 43 connecting the resistor 42 in shunt to the exciting winding I2, the contact members 51 and 62 will next separate from the contact members 58 and` 63, respectively disconnecting the exciting winding I2 from the primary circuit conductor 2 after which the contact memberf31 will engage contact members 36, again completing the short circuit between the terminals of the exciting winding I2.

If, after the relay I3 has been operated to its energized position, the load current continues to increase, the rocker arm I6 will move in a clockwise direction until contact member 26 engages the contact member 3D, thus connecting one terminal of the operating winding 1I of the relay I4 through conductor 12, contact members 26 and 30 and conductor 4I to the line conductor I. Upon slight further movement of the rocker arm I6 in the same direction, the contact member 21 engages the contact 'member 3I thus connecting the other terminal of the winding 1I through conductor 13, contact members 21 and 3| and conductor 56 to line conductor 2, thus `energizing the relay operating winding 1I to cause its armature 14 to move upwardly for actuating the several movable contact members connected thereto.

Upon the initial upward movement of the armature 14 the contact members 4|] and 54 are lll separated from contact members 39 and 53, respectively. The separation of contact members 54 and 53 interrupts the above traced circuit through contact members 2B and 24 on the rocker arm I6 to the operating winding 5I of the relay I3, thus deenergizing this relay and permitting it to drop to its lower or illustrated circuit posi- Ition. The separation of contact member 4U from the Contact members 33 interrupts the above .traced short circuit between terminals 33 and 34 of the exciting winding I2 that would otherwise be completed upon engagement of the contact 4member 31 of the relay I3 with the contact members 36, thus preventing the completion of this short circuit between the first step and the second step of voltage boost introduced under the control of relays I3` and I4, respectively. Upon a slight further upward movement of the armature 14, the relay contact member 13 bridges the contact members 'I1 and the contact member 18 ,bridges the contact membersl 19. The contact member 16 thus completes a circuit between the exciting winding terminal 34 through conductor 8l to circuit conductor 3 to connect the exciting winding I2 between conductors I and 3, and to apply a voltage or, say, 240 volts thereacross to eii'ect an increased boost in the voltage introduced by windings 'I and 9 in the output circuit comprising conductors 4, 2 and 5. The engage- `ment of the contact members 'I8 with the contact members 'I9 closes a circuit between the terminal 82 of the relay operating winding I through conductor 56 to circuit conductor 2 in shunt relation to that initially closed` through contact members 21 and 3l, so that the relay operating winding 1I will not be cleenergized until the rocker arm I6 has moved in a counterclockwise direction sufficiently to separate the contact members 26 and 36. Upon a slight iur ther upward movement of the armature 14, the contact member 41 will separate from contact members 46 to interrupt the circuit through the resistor 42 in shunt to the exciting winding I2, thus completing the second booster step of operation of the apparatus.

Upon a decrease in the load current through the windings 6 and 8, the rocking arm I6 moves in a counter-clockwise direction, and, when moved suiiciently causes separation of contacts 26 and 3U, the winding 1I of the relay I4 will be deenergized, permitting it to drop to its lower or illustrated position. In the movement to its lower position, the contact 41 will first bridge lcontacts 46 to close a circuit through the resistor 42 in shunt relation to the exciting winding I2; then contact members 16 and 18 will separate from engagement with the bridging contact members 11 and 19 respectively, the contact member 'I6 thus interrupting the energizing circuit between the terminal 34 and the circuit conductor 3. The contact member 54 will then bridge contact members 53 to complete a cir- `cuit as above traced, through contact members ,2B and 24 controlled by the rocker arm I6 to I energize the operating winding 5I of the relay ,I3, causing it to operate as before described to Lconnect the exciting winding I2 between conductors I and 2 to etlect application of the-lower of the two boosting voltages to this winding. The contact member 40 will engage the contact members 39 after relay I3 has started to operate and move suiiiciently to effect separation between `contact members 31 and 36. The deenergization of the relay I4 and the'pickup oi the relay I3 has thus disconnected the exciting winding I2 from conductors l and 3 between which the voltage is, say, 240 volts, and connects the exciting winding across conductors l and 2 between which the impressed voltage is, say 120 volts. Correspondingly, the output or boosting voltage of the windings 'i and 9 has been decreased from the maximum value to approximately half of that value.

The apparatus is so adjusted that the relay I3 may operate to effect one stage of boost at, say, '70% full load current on the transformer and the second relay i4 to provide a second stage of boost when the current is at some value such as 130% normal load. The second stage of boost will, therefore, operate only at infrequent intervals when the circuit is operating at a very high load.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modications in the circuits and apparatus described may be made within the spirit of the invention, and it is not wished to be limited otherwise than by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination, a singlephase, three conductor alternating-current circuit, a regulating transformer having series windings connected respectively in two conductors of said circuit and an exciting winding inductively related thereto, switch means for selectively short circuiting said exciting winding, for connecting said exciting winding across two of said three circuit conductors to apply a predetermined energization thereto and across another two of said three circuit conductors for applying a different predetermined energization thereto, and means responsive to the current flow in said two conductors for controlling the operation of said switch means.

2. In combination, a single phase, three conductor alternating-current circuit, a regulating transformer having series windings connected respectively in two conductors of said circuit and an exciting winding inductively related thereto, means responsive to the current flow in said two conductors for selectively short circuiting said exciting winding, and connecting said exciting winding across two of said three circuit conductors for applying a predetermined energization thereto and across another two of said three circuit conductors for applying a different predetermined energization thereto.

3. In combination, a single-phase, three conductor alternating-current circuit, a regulating transformer having series windings connected respectively in two conductors of said circuit and an exciting winding inductively related thereto, switch means having an operating position for short circuiting said exciting winding and an operating position for connecting said exciting winding to said circuit, a resistor, -said switch means having contacts for connecting said resistor across the terminals of said exciting winding when the switch means is in the first of said two positions and for interrupting said circuit after movement of said switch means from said rst position to a position to close the circuit for connecting said exciting winding across the said circuit conductors.

4. In combination, a single-phase, three conductor alternating-current circuit, a regulating lll `flow of current in said three conductor circuit and having two sequentially operated circuit closing means associated with each switch and connected for controlling an operating circuit therefor, means operable upon the energization of said operating circuit for establishing a holding circuit in shunt relation to the second one of said two sequentially operated circuit closing means to close for retaining the operating circuit closed until the rst of said two circuit closing means to close is opened.

5. In combination, a single-phase, three-conductor alternating-current circuit, a regulating transformer having series windings connected respectively in two conductors of said circuit and an exciting winding inductivehr related thereto, switch means for connecting said exciting winding across two of said three circuit conductors to apply a predetermined energization thereto and across another two of said three circuit conductors for applying a different predetermined energization thereto, and means responsive to an electrical condition of the circuit for controlling the operation of said switch means.

6. In combination, a single-phase, three conductor alternating-current circuit, a regulating transformer having series windings connected respectively in two conductors of said circuit and an exciting winding inductively related thereto, switch means 'for connecting said exciting winding between one of the two conductors having a series winding connected therein and the thir'd one of the three circuit conductors to apply a predetermined energization thereto in response to a predetermined decrease in the Value of an electrical characteristic of the circuit and for connecting said exciting winding between the two conductors having serieswinding connected therein to apply a greater predetermined energization thereto upon a greater decrease in the Value of said electrical characteristic of the circuit.

7. In combination, a single phase, three conductor alternating-current circuit, a regulating transformer having series windings connected respectively in the two outer conductors of said circuit and an exciting winding inductively related thereto, means responsive to an electrical condition of said circuit for selectively short circuiting said exciting winding, and connecting said exciting winding across two of said circuit conductors for applyingy a predetermined energization thereto and across another two of said circuit conductors for applying a different predetermined energization thereto.

MILLIE EVELYN FARMER, Administratrice of the Estate of Frank: H. Farmer,

Deceased. 

